Don't Go To Sleep
by Kezzi
Summary: Ever wondered what would happen if the people in your dreams were real? The Doctor and Rose discover this sinister possibility for themselves when they spend a night together in Room 42. How hard can it be to tell the world they can't go to sleep: ever?
1. Chapter I

Rain was starting to fall. The Doctor, long brown trenchcoat billowing as little scurries of breeze whipped fallen leaves into whirlwinds at his feet, looked up at the darkening sky as Rose tugged her hood over her blonde hair.  
"This could get bad," he said, shielding his eyes from the sharpening raindrops. "We've got to get inside, come on!"  
"Why the bloody heck did we have to lose the TARDIS?" Rose said out loud to no one in particular, breaking into a jog as the Doctor did the same in front of her. As Rose looked around at the passing streets of Bristol the sheets of rain intensified, until she could only see as far as three feet in front of her. Everything else was a mass of fuzzy wetness, and produced the horrible sensation of partial blindness. They could never locate the missing TARDIS in this.  
"I think I've found somewhere!" came the Doctor's voice, faint over the constant roar of the rain. Rose hurried over to a vague brown blur which turned out, luckily, to be the Doctor, and followed his gaze. Squinting through the stinging drops, she could just make out 'Bristol Travel Lodge' in rain-streaked letters on the front of the building above them.  
"Excellent, this will do," said the Doctor gleefully, rubbing his wet hands together. He wrenched open the glass entrance doors, grabbed Rose by the hand, and pulled her inside.

When the doors swung smoothly back into place, it was oddly quiet in the Travel Lodge foyer. The rain was a distant hiss outside as Rose peeled off her drenched hooded jacket and emptied her shoes of water. Meanwhile, the Doctor, Converses squeaking on the linoleum floor, stepped up to the reception desk and rang the bell. The little tinkling sound was answered surprisingly quickly by a tall, thin woman emerging from a back room. She glided serenely to the desk, glittering shawls trailing from her neck and arms.  
"Hello there! I'd like to book a room for two, please." chirped the Doctor.  
"Name?" The receptionist's voice was oddly light and dreamlike.  
"The Doctor."  
"Doctor who?"  
"Just the Doctor."  
"Okay…and how many nights?"  
"Just the one, ta."  
She began to tap frantically at the computer sitting on the immaculate wooden surface between them.  
"We've got a double or two singles available, which one-"  
"Double, please," said the Doctor, without letting the receptionist finish. She glared at him slightly behind her huge spectacles, which magnified her eyes to about three times their normal size. Rose started as she heard his answer.  
"What? A doub-"  
The Doctor held up a hand to silence her.  
"Come on, Rose, do you really think I'm gonna pay the thirty pounds extra to get two singles?"  
Rose sighed sceptically – she knew the Doctor could afford almost anything, should he choose to.  
"Room forty-two is free," breathed the receptionist in that odd way of hers, handing the Doctor a silvery key attached to a blue plastic tag, bearing the number '42'. "You may pay when you leave. Sleep well."

Together they traipsed, dripping, up the plush staircase. A maid gave them a look of disgust as they climbed, mopping the steps after them. They ascended another flight, and the Doctor stopped, causing Rose to bump into him abruptly.  
"Right…thirty-eight…forty…aha, forty-two!" He thrust the key at Rose then delved into the inside pocket of his trenchcoat, the hand that returned bearing his trusty Sonic Screwdriver. He pointed it at the lock and pressed the button on the side – the familiar 'squee' sound and flash of blue light preceded a satisfyingly resounding 'click', and the wooden door of Room 42 swung open to allow them both entry. Rose followed the Doctor inside, grinning and shaking her head at his idiosyncrasies.  
"Ahh, this is great!" the Doctor threw himself onto the cushion-laden double bed in glee and lay there, face buried in the quilted duvet. Rose laughed.  
"Have fun in it, I'll be sleeping on the floor." The Doctor sat up and stared straight at her as she stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, twisting her fingers.  
"What? No, no, no – you're sleeping in here, the floor's not fit for a lady!"  
"What if I told you I was secretly a man; would you let me sleep on the floor then?" Rose grinned cheekily. The Doctor laughed and jumped off the bed.  
"Maybe, but you're not a man, are you?" His smile was impish. "And if you insist by it, I'm afraid I'll have to check."  
Rose could feel herself blushing, and quickly looked away.  
"Well, I could sleep on the armchair, that looks quite comfy…"  
"No," said the Doctor firmly, taking her by the arm and turning her to face him. "You're sleeping in the bed, and that's that." Rose refused to give in.  
"So _you're_ sleeping on the floor?"  
The Doctor rolled his eyes and shook Rose by the shoulders in mock frustration.  
"No, you tease! You're just trying to get me to say it, aren't you?"  
"Say what?" Rose was enjoying this.  
"You know what I mean, Rose."  
"No, I don't!"  
"Oh for- fine, Rose, it's not a matter of asking you. It's a demand. You MUST sleep with me."  
He had gone red. Rose gave an inward triumphant cheer.  
"Any decent girl would call the police at this point," she said, smiling. "I'm off into the bathroom to get changed, and I'm confiscating this-" she reached into his jacket and removed the Sonic Screwdriver "-just in case you even THINK about trying." The Doctor laughed and playfully pushed her away.  
"Get on with you."

"Do they make harder Su-Dokus than the 'Master' ones? I've finished all of them already…"  
Rose looked up from her armchair to see the Doctor lounging on the bed, pen in hand and Su-Doku book on his lap. She laughed.  
"Unless the Japanese invent ones especially for Time Lords, I doubt it."  
The Doctor grinned and threw the pen and book onto the small bedside table. "You finished that magazine yet?" He nodded to the open issue of _Closer_ hanging limply in Rose's hands.  
"Why, do you want to read it?" she grinned, deliberately not answering his question. Yes, she had finished the magazine, about an hour ago in fact – but she'd been trying to put off the moment when she'd have to climb into bed with the Doctor as much as possible. It wasn't that she didn't want to – she was just extremely nervous. That, or she had incredibly bad indigestion.  
"You're tired, Rose. Come to bed."  
"I'm not!" She tried to protest, but knew he wasn't buying any of it. As if to back this up she suddenly yawned widely, covering her open mouth with a weary hand.  
"See?" laughed the Doctor. "Come, now. It's already two in the morning." He patted the bed next to him. Rose sighed and gave in; waves of fatigue threatened to overcome her, and that bed did look ever so warm…  
She dragged herself out of the chair and stretched, dropping the magazine haphazardly onto the glass coffee table. She realised with a jolt that she hadn't stuffed any night clothes into her rucksack that morning when leaving the TARDIS to explore the city, and her day clothes were much too stuffy to sleep in. Wincing with embarrassment, she removed her overwear to reveal black lacy lingerie.  
"How strange!" exclaimed the Doctor, and Rose turned back around to face him, covering up as much of her body as she could, blushing furiously. "I swear I'm wearing the exact same thong." Rose threw a pillow at him and missed, the soft stuffing emitting an audible flump as it hit the wall. He laughed. "Come on, get into bed before next-door complains, there's a good girl."  
Too tired to protest, she clambered in under the heavy covers as the Doctor began to remove his blue suit and trousers. Rose caught a glimpse of a pair of tight black pants as he too slid in under the duvet. She could immediately feel the heat of his body and tensed, shooting bolt upright.  
"What's wrong?"  
"Pillow barrier," Rose mumbled, grabbing a handful of pillows and laying them out on top of the duvet, creating a little wall between them.  
"What – why – no!" The Doctor grabbed the pillows back. "Don't be silly, Rose. Just go to sleep."  
"But-"  
"Sleep."

Rose settled back down under the covers, uncomfortably aware of the Doctor's eyes on the back of her head. He shifted slightly and she lay perfectly still, listening to the pace of her own heartbeat quicken, muffled by the many layers of soft, downy material. Where only a second ago she had been on the verge of a deep sleep, she was now wide, wide awake, listening to the tiny rustlings of the sheets as the Doctor tried to get comfortable beside her. _This is insane_, she thought, attempting and failing to ignore the swarm of butterflies trapped in her lower abdomen. _I'm actually sleeping in the same bed as him…_  
Something touched her upper leg and she tensed, senses heightened. The thing, whatever it was, was still moving, creeping forward, getting too close…then it stopped and lay there on her thigh, a warm, comforting weight. A light breath skimmed the back of her neck and Rose felt a sharp stab somewhere below her navel as she realised. _Oh my God_, she thought, head spinning dizzily. _He's got his hand on my leg…_  
"Goodnight, Rose." The Doctor's whisper was soft in her ear.  
"Goodnight, Doctor," she replied quietly, feeling herself relax. He made her feel so safe, so calm, so sleepy…

She was walking along a blindingly light corridor, white glaring at her from all directions. She no longer wore her black underwear; a long ivory gown cloaked her as she padded barefoot across the cool floor towards a plain white door a few metres ahead. Upon reaching it, it automatically slid open for her - and she stepped inside a huge, dazzling cavern. A woman, also shrouded in white, approached her.  
"Welcome, Rose," she said in a dreamlike voice that seemed to float about Rose's ears. "Please, come with me." Rose obeyed without a second thought, following the woman across the cavern. She now noticed where the light was coming from; looking up towards the huge domed ceiling she could see hundreds of spherical orbs, emitting their ethereal glow as they bobbed serenely above their heads. Other cloaked people appeared and vanished around them; some floating a few feet above the ground, some gliding along, some – like them – simply walking. Rose could not see any of their faces, but this did not concern her. If anything, the whole situation seemed completely normal. Yet as she walked quietly alongside this stranger, she felt a little of her curiosity return.  
"Where am I?" Rose asked, in an odd, expressionless tone. The woman stopped and turned to face her. Her face was porcelain-like, almost as if she were wearing a blank mask. There were no features; no eyes to meet, no visible mouth for her words to issue from.  
"You are dreaming, Rose Tyler. But not as you know it."  
"What do you mean?"  
"You will know the answer to your question in due course." The woman gave a small bow and continued to tread over the smooth white floor.  
Rose began to feel the ability to think return to her. _I've never had a dream like this before_, she thought. _Something's changed…_ But still, she felt oddly calm and serene as she stepped after the woman into another brightly-lit yet smaller chamber, where many people were flying around near the ceiling among the orbs.  
"There has been a Revolution, Rose," said the woman, a hint of suppressed excitement lurking among her words. "We have evolved, and we are ready."  
"What do you mean, ready?"  
"You will find out in due course."  
But Rose suddenly wanted, _needed_ to know. "Who are you?"  
The woman did not reply, but turned to a nearby man. "She's too conscious. Send her back."  
The man, quite tall and frighteningly muscular, stepped silently over to Rose and raised his hand, placing it upon her forehead. She immediately began to float upwards, and soon recognised this feeling as the sensation of waking up.  
"No! Wait, I need to ask…"  
But it was too late; the light was dimming, the white turning to grey… In a last desperate attempt, she grabbed onto the nearest solid object – one of the floating orbs. The waking did not cease, however; and within seconds the light had been extinguished, the flowing white robe had fallen from her shoulders and she was lying once more in the warm bed, drenched in cold sweat, the sheets sticking to her skin.

The orb still clutched in her hand.


	2. Chapter II

Rose gasped and let go of the orb in shock. Instead of dropping heavily down onto the bed as she expected it to, the light within burst into life again the moment it left her fingers, and floated upwards to hover around the dark candelabra. She stared up at it, wide-eyed and fearful, still not quite believing what she saw. _Am I actually awake? Or am I having one of those dreams where you think you wake up but you don't really, and then you DO wake up?_ Her head spun in confusion and she shut her eyes tight, hoping that when she opened them, she'd be properly awake and everything would be back to normal. But the orb remained, its light penetrating even her strongly clamped eyelids.  
"Nngh…Rose…what are you doing?" grunted the Doctor, and Rose jumped violently. She had almost forgotten he was there, let alone the fact he was so close, warm hand still resting on her thigh. It seemed like so long ago she had fallen asleep, yet she guessed the dream had only lasted for a few minutes. But no matter how confused she felt, how scared, how worried; she knew the Doctor could help. She'd witnessed him save the Earth so many times from all manner of strange alien creatures, watched him go through more pain than any human…she'd even seen his pants. And - unlike most doctors - he worked evenings and weekends, too.  
"Doctor…" she began shakily. "Something is very, very wrong."

"Right – let's go through this again," said the Doctor, ruffling his mop of brown hair impatiently with his hands and pacing around the hotel room. Rose sat on the bed, quilt gathered around herself, trying to look anywhere but his black-clad…areas. "So everything was white and the people had no faces?" Rose nodded. "And a woman told you that they had evolved and were ready for something – they'd revolutionised?" Rose nodded again.  
"But what does all this mean, Doctor?" she asked, head pounding.  
"Well, the fact you returned from the dream holding an object from it tells us a lot," he said, looking up at her and grinning in a concerned sort of way, indicating the floating orb with a single inclination of his head.  
"Tells us a lot about what?"  
He sighed and stopped pacing, staring straight into her eyes.  
"I can't be sure, Rose, but I think the real and dream worlds are colliding. The dreams of humans have always been random, uncontrolled, musings of the subconscious mind. But now, it looks like the people who inhabit the dream world have found a way of controlling the dreams of humans. They are making them come to this particular place, a place where they can do something that they can't do anywhere else…" He began to pace again, clutching his head. "A place where objects, even people, from the dream world can pass through to reality using the dreamers as transport…sorry, I should really put some clothes on, shouldn't I?"

Rose jumped and quickly looked away, blushing. She had been quite subconsciously staring at his general pants area as he paced agitatedly around the room.  
"No, no, sorry…carry on."  
He chuckled slightly before continuing in serious tones. "Say, maybe, they've found some kind of rift in time and space. A hole between two worlds, if you like, through which matter can pass. They're just practising at the moment with objects, but I imagine soon enough the dream people will attach themselves to humans and enter the real world…and then…" he stopped, hands on the sill of the large window, looking out onto the glittering night of Bristol.  
"And then?" Rose said quietly, easing herself down from the bed and padding over to join him.  
"War," he murmured, lips a hard line, muscular shoulders tense in the light from the orb. They were silent for a few moments, both gazing out upon the punctuated blackness, barely daring to breathe.  
_War between dream and reality…_ Rose thought. _That's gotta be weird_.  
"Doctor," she said cautiously, breaking the thick silence. He turned to look at her, hazel eyes reflecting the tiny pinpricks of light from outside as their faces swam in shadow, away from the orb's glow. "I don't think we should go to sleep tonight…you know, in case anything else…"  
"I don't think _anyone_ should go to sleep," the Doctor murmured. "You saw how many other people were in that dream of yours – most of them were probably human, like you. The more people sleep, the more chance they have to invade."  
"So we have to somehow stop everyone from sleeping?"  
"Seems bizarre, but…I think it's the only option. I suppose we could get the message across by making a broadcast, but how many people do you think will actually believe it?" He sighed, knuckles white on the sill. Rose looked back out onto the streets.  
"At least Starbucks will be happy, if they do. Everyone will be gagging for a coffee." she said, giggling in spite of the situation.

The Doctor smiled slightly and wandered back into the middle of the room. Standing on tiptoes, he reached the orb and pulled it down – the light within extinguishing the moment he made contact.  
"I don't fancy holding onto this thing all night," he said, frowning at it as though it had just done something very offensive. "It's going in the bathroom." After releasing it he shut the door – the room suddenly seemed very dark, and Rose could see nothing as she stumbled in the direction of the bed. She held her arms out in front of her in a zombie-like manner, trying to feel her way through the velvety blackness.  
"Doctor, I can't- oops!" She caught her foot on a stray cushion and fell forwards, feeling a pair of strong arms catch her around the waist just centimetres before her body hit the floor.  
"Come on, Rose, the bed's this way," he said, pulling her upright. "Hold onto my arm – no, that's not my arm!"  
"Certainly firm enough to be," Rose muttered in slight shock as she let go of whatever she'd just grabbed and allowed the Doctor to steer her to the bed through the impenetrable darkness.  
Staring blindly ahead of her, she was able to clamber onto the soft duvet and settled there as the Doctor joined her, making the springs of the mattress creak.  
"Now what?" asked Rose, glad the Doctor couldn't see her burning cheeks. He was sitting very close; the heat from his body almost scorching her bare skin.  
"Now…we don't go to sleep." he replied simply, and they both sat there in a solitary silence. Rose's eyes began to grow accustomed to the dark; she could now just make out the outline of the armchair against the window, and the Doctor's silhouette in front of her, his hair in its usual messy state. She felt a sudden yawn overcome her and realised again how tired she was. Sleep threatened as her eyelids tried to force themselves shut, thoughts muffling, breath deepening…

"Okay, this isn't going to work." The Doctor's voice jolted her out of the daze and she regained posture, feeling fearful. "We need to do something to take our minds off sleep, otherwise…well, you know what'll happen."  
"Like what?" asked Rose, trying to keep her eyes wide against their will. The Doctor's own gaze was on her again, she could feel it.  
"Well…" he leaned back on his hands, his shape now clearly visible to her in what had become only semi-darkness. "We could…talk about Intergalactic Frequencies?" Rose laughed.  
"I thought you didn't want me to fall asleep?"  
He chuckled. "Didn't think so. Umm…how about we have a Su-Doku competition?"  
"No! Doctor, be serious."  
"I am!"  
They looked at each other for a while, listening to the steady rumble of cars as they passed on the road outside the window, smelling the scent of fresh flowers and immaculately clean sheets.  
"I win!"  
"What?" Rose jumped, confused, as the Doctor did a little celebratory jiggle.  
"You blinked," he said, grinning widely at her.  
"WHAT? I didn't even know we were – argh!" She grabbed hold of a pillow and threw it at him in frustration. He caught it and laughed, before hurtling it back at her. It hit her on the side of the face and she squealed.  
"Oww! Right, that's it…"  
She lunged forward and, before he could stop her, started to tickle his sides viciously. He squirmed and tried to break free.  
"Rose – no – stop!" he laughed, struggling to get away.  
She giggled and continued. "What's the matter – is the Doctor ticklish?"  
He writhed beneath her, panting. "No – argh! – well, maybe – oww! – but the question is, are you?"  
Without warning, he pushed her off him with amazing agility and flipped himself over.  
"See how the tides turn, Miss Tyler?" he growled, fingers working furiously at her neck and waist. She screamed and wriggled.  
"No! Stop – please – argh!" Tears were leaking from the corners of her eyes as she laughed and fought against the Doctor's strong hands. The room was suddenly very hot as they thrashed around on the bed, limbs kicking and pillows flying. She gave a particularly shrill squeal and he abruptly stopped, breathing heavily. Rose opened her eyes and looked up at him in surprise as he wavered over her, legs straddling her hips. His face was only centimetres from her own, eyes staring into hers, the expression of a startled rabbit upon his handsome features.

He was much, much too close.

Rose's heartbeat raced ahead of her, threatening to break through its prison bars. They were both trembling, gazing intently at each other through the thick, sweet darkness. The Doctor's limbs seemed to suddenly give way beneath him and he fell softly onto her, the gap between them closing completely. Before she knew it, before she could even think, Rose found her lips encased by the Doctor's, his tongue gently moving forward to explore her mouth. He tasted so sweet, so warm, so soft…

"Well," gasped Rose, chest rising and falling heavily. "That worked." It had all happened so fast; the sky outside was already beginning to lighten with the weak dawn sun. She guessed it must have been more than an hour since she had lost all conscious thought, and given herself up to the Time Lord's handcrafted sensations.  
The Doctor snickered quietly, kissing her on the cheek before rolling off onto the bed. "It sure did." He grinned at the ceiling for a few minutes in a satisfied way, before sitting up. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up," he said, making his way over the bathroom door and opening it, light from the orb immediately illuminating the room.  
"Okay." Rose shielded her eyes from the sudden light, and covered herself up in the duvet.  
"Don't go to sleep," winked the Doctor, closing the door behind him and leaving Rose in darkness once more.

She lay there, heart still pounding, still feeling the occasional soft rush of pleasure as her mind relived what they'd just done. She could hardly comprehend it; it was too wonderful, too amazing…she'd been in love with him almost ever since the very first time he'd grabbed her hand and told her to "Run!"; and on every occasion this moment had been repeated, the feelings had intensified. She'd always had the inkling he felt the same way, yet for everything to happen so quickly was a bit of a surprise. _Still_, thought Rose as her heavy breathing gradually subsided, _I really hope this isn't just a dream._ Scared by this notion, she pinched herself hard to make sure.  
"Oww!" An angry little red mark appeared on her thigh and she smiled to herself jubilantly, listening to the hiss of the shower as the Doctor washed himself, smelling the scent of a memory she'd never forget.  
When he emerged from the bathroom, rubbing himself dry with a towel, Rose leapt down from the bed and went to him. He tossed the towel aside and took her in his arms, kissing her hair softly. She breathed in his soft woody smell and held tight to him, willing him to feel the love pulsing inside of her chest, feeling his own two heartbeats against her cheek. Three hearts, throbbing together in perfect time.

Three hearts, each skipping a beat as a horrified scream punched a hole in the thick, humid air.


	3. Chapter III

They stood frozen for only a fraction of a second before springing into hurried action. By the light of the orb, both struggled into their clothes, a fearful silence between them as sleepy voices and slippered footsteps sounded in the corridor outside.  
The Doctor was first ready and dashed to the door, wrenching it open as Rose, straightening her top, followed. Pushing through the jostling, tiredly curious crowd, they could just make out a woman sitting trembling against the wall, with a man that must have been her husband attempting to comfort her. The congregation of people in the narrow hallway were shooting endless "What happened?"s at the pair, and as Rose drew closer she could see the woman was in a state of complete distress. She was clearly fresh from sleep; hair sticking up at odd angles, dark circles of mascara around her eyes. She was shaking uncontrollably in her husband's arms, face blank, eyes wide and frightened.  
"Excuse me, coming through," called the Doctor, steadily making his way through the knot of people. The husband looked up at him as he emerged, scared.  
"Who are you?"  
"I'm the Doctor," he replied, kneeling down in front of the woman, who simply continued to stare straight ahead, trembling. "And you?"  
"Jones, sir."  
"Mr Jones, can you tell me what's happened?"  
"Well," he began slowly, shooting fearful glances towards the door of their room, which was shut and locked tightly. "We was just asleep, sir, when my wife suddenly woke up with a funny jolt, which woke me, sir, and this…" he threw a frightened look at the door again "…this strange white bloke with no face sorta _vapourised_ in the bed, holding onto me wife! And she screamed, and I did near too, sir, and then we ran out here and locked the door on the thing. Bloody terrifying, I think we need to call the police, sir…"

Rose, who had finally escaped from the milling crowd and was now standing beside the Doctor, looked down to see his lips pressed into a firm, serious line as Mr Jones's voice tailed off. The surrounding people were suddenly very quiet.  
"Everybody stand well back," he said softly, and stood up.  
The crowd jostled and pushed to give the Doctor a wide berth, although they were all still craning their necks to see what was happening. Mr Jones pulled his whimpering wife to her feet and they backed away to become part of the silent mass as the Doctor, closely followed by a cautious Rose, stepped up to the door and reached for his Sonic Screwdriver. His hand emerged from his inside pocket empty, however, and he turned enquiringly to Rose. She looked fearfully puzzled for a second before remembering with a quiet "Oh…", and produced the Screwdriver from the pocket of her jeans. The Doctor took it from her, pointed it at the lock, and pressed the button on its side. Bright blue light lit up the Doctor's face for a second, the crowd waiting with baited breath behind him. When the door swung slowly open with a quiet creak, there was a unanimous intake of breath – and as the duo began to move daringly into the dim room beyond, several people took steps forward. The Doctor wordlessly raised a single hand to halt them, and with his other he took hold of Rose's trembling forearm. Together, they disappeared inside the room, door swinging shut behind them and locking itself automatically with an ominous, echoing sound.

There was no one to be seen.  
"Keep your eyes peeled," the Doctor warned, releasing Rose's arm and scanning the room with his hawk-like eyes. It seemed untouched; only the lamp on the bedside table was overturned, and Rose assumed this was the result of Mrs Jones' panic-stricken leap out of bed. "There's bad energy in here, I can sense it. Keep close to me." This instruction was unnecessary, however – Rose was far too frightened to leave his side. He bent down to look under the bed as Rose kept watch, but emerged only with an anxious expression and a dirty old pacifier.  
"Should we check the bathroom?" whispered Rose, biting her lip nervously. With a slow nod from the Doctor, they crept silently across the carpet towards the bathroom door, which was ajar. He inched it open gently with his toe and Rose held her breath and closed her eyes as they slipped inside the cool room. She felt the Doctor stop abruptly next to her, and quickly opened her eyelids.  
She had never seen the Doctor look so grim in her life.  
"It's escaped."  
Rose followed his eye-line to the little room's single window and gasped; the sash was pushed up to reveal the bright white sky outside as the blinds in front of it flapped helplessly like dusty snakeskins in the cruel wind.

After shutting the window tightly, The Doctor turned and walked back into the main room. Rose followed him out into the corridor once he had unlocked the door again, where the curiously chattering crowd quickly hushed at the sight of them. He stepped up to Mr Jones.  
"You can return, the creature's gone. He escaped out of the window."  
"You mean it's _loose_?" cried a voice. The Doctor nodded morosely. There was an immediate outbreak of confused buzzing and a child somewhere began to wail. The Doctor held up his hand once more and they fell quiet.  
"We're not safe," he said solemnly. "No one in the world is safe. This is going to sound bizarre, but if you want to stay alive, please, please listen to me." Rose could tell he was struggling to keep his voice from quavering as it echoed down the long passage, and gently laid a hand on his arm. He glanced at her and his eyes spoke his thanks before he turned back to the still congregation; shoulders square under his brown trenchcoat and back stiff. "We are under attack from a race of aliens. They live in the world of dreams; beings dressed entirely in white who possess no faces. They've evolved to the point where they can now use dreamers to pass through to this world – to conquer it. Once they have an army based here, they will fight. Hundreds of humans will die."

His pause was met by a horrible, uneasy silence.  
"What-what are you trying to say?" stuttered one woman, clutching her small baby tightly to her chest with a sort of desperation. Some echoed her terrified expression; while others, Rose saw with a sinking heart, looked doubtful or even mocking, their eyebrows raised. The Doctor gave a long, quiet sigh before answering, as though he knew what he was about to say was rendered hopeless before the words had even left his lips.  
"Don't go to sleep. Don't even nap. Don't doze, don't lie down. Pass my message on to everyone you know, and don't go to sleep." He eyed the crowd dangerously. "Good luck."  
There was another stretch of silence, but when the Doctor turned away they rushed forwards, hailing him in a confused chorus.  
"What are we supposed to do?"  
"I'm tired, I need to sleep…"  
"What about my baby?"  
"What's the point, mate?"  
"You think we're stupid, you great big-?"  
"No questions!" called the Doctor, voice shooting their shrieks out of the air, sharp eyes holding them back. "Just stay awake. Call your friends, family, everyone you know. Tell them." No one moved. "NOW!"

The Doctor, apparently satisfied with himself, turned and began to walk in the opposite direction. Rose couldn't find the heart to alert him to the fact no one seemed to be at all frightened by his news and were instead retreating, heads shaking in disbelief and annoyance, back into their rooms. Instead she pursued him to the fire exit at the end of the corridor, and a freezing breeze met them as he opened it out onto the quiet streets of Bristol. It must have been at least five in the morning, but the sky was a mass of brilliantly piercing white mist and the surrounding city was brighter than day.  
Rose stared over his shoulder, painfully aware of the resemblance the outside world had to her dream. The Doctor slid an arm around her waist and they stood there in silence, the mist swirling coldly around the city.  
"It's too late, isn't it?" breathed Rose, feeling her eyes start to sting as tears threatened to spill over onto her pale, tired cheeks. The Doctor tightened his hand on her hip and pulled her close to his side, expression impassive.  
"Not just yet."  
As he said these words, the misty city air was pierced with a scream as another citizen awoke to find themselves in the company of the white faceless beings, the shrill noise reverberating all around Rose and the Doctor as they stood, two silent figures at the top of the Bristol Travel Lodge fire escape.  
"Are you sure?" asked Rose, positive that this latest scream was evidence enough for a complete invasion.  
"All is not lost yet," replied the Doctor, who began to descend the fire escape steps with a new urgency. Rose quickly followed.  
"Where are we going?"  
"The Town Hall," the Doctor shot back over his shoulder as he jogged down the metal steps, Rose trying to keep up. "We have to let the Mayor know - he could call a meeting and would probably be able to convince people a lot better than a ragamuffin like me and a-"  
He paused to look up at her, eyes twinkling despite the desperate situation.  
"Choose your words _very_ carefully," laughed Rose, becoming level with him on the step. The Doctor surveyed her with a grin, looking her body up and down several times.  
"An incredibly sexy and bloody gorgeous young woman like yourself," he concluded, catching her lips in a quick yet still sensuous kiss before continuing down the steps. Vividly remembering the events of that night, Rose's cheeks flushed as she accompanied him to the ground.  
"Right…Town Hall, Town Hall, Town Hall…" the Doctor looked down each road, trying to see it – but gave up this method in favour of what he must have thought was a better one. He began to spin in fast circles while Rose watched, giggling at his odd antics and forgetting their peril for a moment.  
"Iiiiiiit's…" he came to an abrupt stop with his arm pointing down one of the wide roads to his left, "_that_ way!" Grabbing a still-laughing Rose, he began to jog through the waking city down the street, twisting around corners and changing direction if ever he felt it was needed. When they skidded onto a wide road called Court Street, he broke into a run with an extremely breathless Rose several metres behind him.  
"Here it is!" he yelled suddenly, stopping so abruptly that she bumped heavily into him with a squeal. Looking up, she saw the majestic Town Hall towering over them, and was too busy admiring the stonework to realise that the Doctor had already unlocked the great doors with his Screwdriver and hopped inside.  
"Come on!" he called, poking his head out of the entrance and grinning almost maniacally. She jumped violently and hurried inside, just as the heavy door swung to a close.

The inside of the building seemed even bigger on the inside, forcibly reminding Rose of the TARDIS. They both marvelled at the incredibly high ceiling criss-crossed with gold leaf patterns, the royally decorated walls panelled with dark mahogany on the bottom half. Matching chairs were stacked in their hundreds against the left wall, and a gigantic stage stood directly in front of them at the far end of the hall, flanked by smooth crimson velvet curtains.  
"Reckon this place uses Time Lord technology?" grinned Rose, performing a little pirouette under the sparkling ceiling. The Doctor gave a bark of laughter before grabbing her by the arm and heading to a door marked 'Private'.  
Behind it was a small, narrow staircase which contrasted hugely from the spacious hall they'd just left, and after making a gesture to signal silence the Doctor preceded Rose as they crept carefully up the bare stone steps. Another door at the top opened quietly into what was instantly recognisable as the Mayor's bedroom. The furnishings were rich in the colours from the hall below, and the same royal wallpaper adorned the walls. A large four–poster stood importantly in the corner with drapings of red velvet and gold–patterned duvets – but it was empty. The reason for this became apparent, however, as the Doctor pushed the door open further and a gruff voice met their startled ears.

"Who's there?"  
A rather large, balding man waddled into view, dressed in a pair of red and white stripy pyjamas. A monocle was clenched tightly in his eye socket, and he squinted at them through the thick lens as they revealed themselves and stepped into the cosy room.  
"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said, "and this is Rose, my…err…" He looked over his shoulder at Rose, who was staring meaningfully at the carpet. "My companion."  
"Doctor who?"  
"Never mind that."  
"And how did you get in?"  
"Or that. Mayor…I have a message for you, a message of the utmost importance. You probably won't believe me and think I'm talking utter codswallop, but it's completely true and absolutely vital that you listen."  
"Go ahead, then," replied the Mayor dubiously, wandering over to his mahogany desk and sitting down heavily at it, pushing aside a stack of papers with his chubby pyjama'd arm. His expression plainly told them that he was expecting some kind of joke. The Doctor took a deep breath and started to pace as he begun the tale.

"So you see," he concluded solemnly, turning to look at the Mayor, who was now sitting with his back to them, hands propping up his double chin, "we need your help. Somehow, we have to either stop the citizens from sleeping, or prepare them for war. The choice is yours."  
The Mayor continued to face the other way, and when he spoke his voice was almost dangerously quiet.  
"You're right."  
The Doctor's tense shoulders relaxed, and behind him Rose let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Thank you, sir – I think a town gathering here would be quite-" But he was cut off by the Mayor spinning slowly round in his chair to stare directly at him.  
"Let me finish. You're right – I've never heard such a load of 'codswallop' in my entire life. Get out of my office."  
Rose's eyes were wide with shock, but the Doctor's were desperate as instead of backing away, he stepped towards the fuming Mayor.  
"Please, _please_ listen to me," he hissed warningly. "There will be war if we don't stop this, you'll be killing your people if you don't take action now-"  
"Give it up, Doctor!" smirked the Mayor, chair creaking as he got to his feet. "April Fools' is next month." He chuckled to himself as he turned away once more to tidy his desk. The Doctor persisted as Rose stood, watching the scene unfold helplessly before her.  
"Mayor, no one must go to sleep, you must understand me-"  
He turned back around and faced the Doctor with derision.  
"I have been up all night - ALL NIGHT - signing these blasted papers and writing replies to stupid, whiny letters…and you're telling me I'm not allowed to go to bed?" He laughed cruelly. The Doctor looked on, defeated. "For the last time, Doctor, get out of my office. A Mayor needs his sleep."  
Grinning triumphantly, he ushered the downhearted pair out of his office. They were too stunned, too helpless to even attempt to fight back - so with shrugs and defeated sighs they began to trudge together down the dark, narrow staircase.

Two hours later, the Mayor of Bristol was dead.


End file.
